It's the holiday weekend and it's time to celebrate! My kids LOVE ice cream and they especially love ice cream cones. They're sweet, delicious and fun to eat, there's no wonder they're so good. But if you have little ones you know how messy ice cream can be when it melts away faster than they can eat them. The ice cream starts dripping down the sides as a parent nearby is urgently encouraging the child to lick the melting treat and lickthose drips! before the ice cream comes flooding down the side of the cone. One drip at a time and then they're covered. You've seen it, I'm sure, they're all dressed up for a party and they get their adorable little outfits all covered in ice cream!

These cute cannoli inspired vanilla cones are delicious and taste like soft serve vanilla ice cream from the ice cream shop. Seriously! Try them! I don't add a lot of sugar, I find that by the time you put the ricotta in a sugar cone and add sprinkles on top that the amount of sweetness is perfect. My boys gobbled these up in a flash! But if you have a real sweet tooth taste the cannoli mixture and add more sugar as you need, but trust me, you won't need a lot!

These vanilla cones are easy to whip up and perfect for serving to a crowd. You can prep the ricotta ahead of time and keep it in a covered bowl in the fridge then put them together right before serving. I wouldn't put them together ahead of time because the cones may get soggy and the colors from the sprinkles may start to melt into the ricotta.... and no one wants a soggy ice cream cone!

So I'm guessing that by now you know what I'm talking about and that you probably have one of those friends whose darling children are always perfectly dressed in the cutest little outfits. Help her out this holiday weekend and serve these cones. I promise, Mama will say yes to these cannoli vanilla cones!

Chia pudding is all the rage and it's no wonder. It is a SUPERFOOD loaded with fibre, protein, anti-oxidants, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. It's versatile and sooo good for you. Chia seeds are often soaked ahead of time, which makes the most nutrients available to our bodies to use. After the seeds have been soaked they end up having this amazing "glooby" texture. You know what I'm talking about, right? My kids think it's funny the way the seeds feel in their throats when they swallow. So we call them glooby seeds here at home! If you haven't tried them, you just have to experience it to know!

A great way to enjoy chia seeds is in chia pudding. This chia pudding is so pretty, it's great for breakfast, a snack. and definitely for dessert! Chia pudding is so versatile because the flavour is so mild that you can adapt it to any liquid and toppings of your choice, like this one soaked in almond milk topped with homemade granola, a dollop of Greek yogurt with kiwi and banana slices. I use unsweetened almond milk, it's low fat, low calorie and adds a sweet taste to the chia pudding. This is seriously beautiful and sweet enough to serve as dessert!

I'm excited to let you all know that this recipe was picked up by the feedfeed's Best Chia Seeds Recipes - check it out https://thefeedfeed.com/lovegoodfoodblog/almond-chia-pudding-with-granola-banana-and-kiwi

1. Prepare the chia pudding at least 4 hours ahead of time, or overnight2. Pour chia seeds in a container and add almond milk, stir well, cover and place in the fridge3. After chia seeds gel and set and ready to serve, spoon out pudding into two bowls4. Slice kiwi and banana and add to chia pudding5. Top off with granola and Greek yogurt